How to get started.

[MindTheGap]

Hey, I'm new to theese forums! :thumbsup:

I really want to get started in web development and design. My goal is to make websites that are functional, and look nice and sleek.

I do know C++ so I'm not new to programming.

I just want to know, how can I get started in web dev and design. What programs and tools should I get?

[rafiki]

you'll want an editor with highlighting. maybe a local web server, and downloading the php manual cant be bad if you plan on using php

[CaptainB]

I think that you should start from basic and learn HTML+CSS. Then you can move on to more advanced methods afterwards :) A good place to start is here: http://www.html.net/

[MindTheGap]

Thanks guys.

I've started learning HTML, and it seems REALLY easy so far. I haven't got to CSS yet, but I will!

There's a slight problem though. I'm running on a Mac (a MacBook Pro to be exact), and I cant save anything as a '.html' or '.htm' file. It just wont let me. If I use Microsoft Word, it savevs it as '.doc', if I use any other text editor it came with it saves it as a weird extension. What's a good text editor that I can use?

[VIPStephan]

You can’t save html files? Did you use TextEdit? You can save the files there with any extension. Make sure you have plain text (no rich text format) switched on and you just put the htm extension after the file name.

However, a real code editor that’s nice and free is TextWrangler (http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/). The good thing is you can use it together with Cyberduck (http://cyberduck.ch) and kind of edit your html files online.

Of course, Dreamweaver is still the favorite application for many people but it costs a lot of money.

[groog]

Hey, I'm new to theese forums! :thumbsup:

I really want to get started in web development and design. My goal is to make websites that are functional, and look nice and sleek.

I do know C++ so I'm not new to programming.

I just want to know, how can I get started in web dev and design. What programs and tools should I get?

You really don't need any programs, their overrated. I use notepad myself and I understand what I'm doing a lot better (and it's what the pros do). If your a good c++ programmer you'll have no problem learning these languages seeing c++ is the most difficult of them all. I would start out with basic html, not too indepth because a lot of it you wont need. Then I would learn css for flexibility, and easier coding (you can learn the whole code in a day or two). Then if you want a more interactive web page then javascript in dhtml (in that order) is the way to go. And finally if you want a member system or content submission by members you can learn php. 4/5 languages to learn seems overwhelming but it's easier to learn as you go (what I do) so you don't get bored.

Other people may have better advise though, I'm not the best web builder :P

[Jutlander]

And finally if you want a member system or content submission by members you can learn php.

PHP can be used for a lot more than just that, but I'm sure you are aware of that. I advice people to use serverside where it is possible, because not everyone browse with Javascript enabled. :)

[danwmr]

Hooray! Another developer using a mac.

You'll want XCode - check your installation disks - it's not installed by default.

For out-of-the-box, sleek CSS designs, check out http://www.alistapart.com. Lovely stuff.

http://www.w3schools.com is pretty good too.

And for php, check out http://www.php.net. It's more of a reference guide, but once you've found the function you need, there are normally a few worked examples.

D...

[dolcezza]

BBedit is a great tool too!

[MindTheGap]

Thanks guys!

I feel like I have a good grasp of HTML in only 2 days of learning, but I'm sure it will get a lot harder.

I'm still a bit unsure of how to go about making a navigation bar. Whats the most efficient way to make a nav bar?

[Jutlander]

There are many ways but the most semantic is a list, because it is, well, a list of items. :)

[Pennimus]

I use notepad myself and I understand what I'm doing a lot better (and it's what the pros do).

Notepad is all well and good but it's a bit of a stretch to claim it's what professional developers use! Why would you possibly want to make your life harder by using a basic program without code highlighting, snippet libraries, auto complete, code suggestions, previews, ftp client, site management etc etc...? Answer - you wouldn't.

[evo]

A cheap and affordable solution I use is TopStyle Pro - you can get a free version too to try it out.

http://www.bradsoft.com

[croatiankid]

HTML is really simple, you have a bunch of unique tags, each with their own purpose, that you wrap around the respective text to form a logical structure.